online sales combined with a local shop

[multitrust]

Hello everyone

 

We are planing to open a small local shop in our city (switzerland) and do this paralel with an online shop. 

 

Our main problem is, how to manage the online platform with the local shop!?

 

We sell almost the same products online as in the local shop and our problem is, we don't know how to manage the products stock.

 

The first idea was to install the free woocomerce plugin and to export 2-3 times a day the stck list and to import it to our local shop system.... 

 

The second idea is to do everything over a better shop system like prestshop. With prestashop we don't know if we can handle both shops!!

 

I hope, you can help us to solve our problem! Any ideas??? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Hugh]

One option is to forget about having PrestaShop track stock levels. With our physical store that also sells online we've been doing okay offering a limited inventory on PrestaShop, that we manually adjust when something runs out by disabling the product. The bulk of our business is in-store, so the amount of online orders isn't overwhelming. If you want to start out small this might work for you.

[Knowband Plugins]

Hello everyone

 

We are planing to open a small local shop in our city (switzerland) and do this paralel with an online shop. 

 

Our main problem is, how to manage the online platform with the local shop!?

 

We sell almost the same products online as in the local shop and our problem is, we don't know how to manage the products stock.

 

The first idea was to install the free woocomerce plugin and to export 2-3 times a day the stck list and to import it to our local shop system.... 

 

The second idea is to do everything over a better shop system like prestshop. With prestashop we don't know if we can handle both shops!!

 

I hope, you can help us to solve our problem! Any ideas??? 

 

Thanks!

Hi,

 

Managing Product Stock is not an easy task. It takes much of our valuable time to manage product stock. But only if not done in the right way. The problem you are facing are equally faced by other store owners too. All you have to do is search for the best optimal solution for managing your stock. Below is one suggestions :

 

Product Management Modules: Many Businesses Manage inventory by designing an inventory management database or purchasing inventory management software. Inventory Management software enables distributors to customize the database to fit their individual needs. One such Module is Product quantity update by scanner. Below are some of its features:

 

i) It scans the products using UPC, EAN, SKU or Reference number and update the product quantity.

ii) Admin can see all the information of the scanned products on the screen after scanning.

iii) After scanning all products, admin can update the quantity of the product to his database in a single go.

iv) Admin can also add or remove products manually.

 

As you sell similar products on online store and local shop, this module will be helpful for you in managing stocks. You can install this product on your prestashop store and use its features to manage products. You can find more about this product by visiting: https://addons.prestashop.com/en/fast-mass-updates/24131-product-quantity-update-with-scanner.html

 

I hope this fits your requirement. Feel free to contact in case of any query or issue.

Have a great day

[Audrey Zack]

Yeah, I agree with @Knowband. You can find too many add ons/modules on PrestaShop that helps you maintain your stock. Please have a look at https://addons.prestashop.com/en/stock-supplier-management/18762-inventory-scan-or-input-fields.html

[prestatent]

Hi Multitrust

 

I know this is an old post but just in case you need some more advice, please see my thoughts below.

 

I take it you will be using a till system in your physical shop.

 

If you go for an online till solution, they may well also supply a web solution that links to your till via their APIs. This is one solution and may be the simplest.

 

If you want to use Prestashop with an online till system you would have to get the till manufacturers APIs to get access to the till database and then update your website from there. In my opinion you want the "Master" database on the till, therefore all feeds to the website, Ebay, Amazon etc., are synchronized from the till and you only need to update the till.

 

I have carried out this solution recently for one of our partners, and once I had the the till system APIs I created several bespoke processes to :

 

- update the website products from till - automated scheduled process

- update the website stock from the till - automated scheduled process

- update the till with website orders including stock adjustments - automated scheduled process

 

This is not a simple solution but does free you from having to input web orders onto the till for instance.

 

If I were you, my first step would be to decide what till system you are using and ask the manufacturers if they also supply a web based solution that links to the till.

 

My tuppence worth.

 

Cheers

Edited August 28, 2017 by prestatent (see edit history)